I have seen the future of consumer products – and that future is customized.

An ever increasing number of companies are offering consumers the possibility to customize their products, exactly as the customer wants. This trend has impacted every type of consumer good product you can think of – from clothing to vehicles, to home accessories and even mobile phones.

It seems that everywhere you turn, companies are touting their sustainability efforts, green initiatives and eco-friendly practices in everything from un-bleached paper, to CO2 scrubbers, to hybrid delivery vehicles, to recycled packaging.

Anyone who attends this week’s edition of the annual CES show will see some of the most innovative consumer devices on display, everything from smartphones and smartwatches to televisions and refrigerators. With the Internet of Things (IoT) trend re-invigorating companies’ efforts to connect everything to the Internet, you can be sure to see connected devices and products on display that no one has ever thought of before.

With another CES upon us, everyone has begun making predictions as to what this year’s standout device is going to be. What will be the next handheld, wearable or drone that everyone will be clambering for in 2015? One thing that we can be sure of for 2015 is brands will be putting more and more emphasis into packaging, not in the sense of added protection or cost savings, but instead as a way of continuing their messaging and branding.

You started in a garage, hand manufacturing, testing and shipping each and every product. From there, your Kickstarter campaign gave you the capital and the courage to go ahead and outsource your production. While you have outsourced production, you’re still handling the logistics of receiving, warehousing, order fulfillment and shipping on your own – and it has begun to be a time-consuming bottleneck that takes up more and more of your resources and time.

According to a recent survey by Accenture, most companies have high expectations of incorporating analytics on big data in their supply chains, but adopting it has been a challenge. In fact, 97 percent of the executives surveyed understand how big data analytics can improve their supply chain, but only 17 percent have implemented it.

Product packaging was initially conceived simply to contain and protect the goods inside, with visual appeal often an afterthought. Today, however, more and more brands are realizing that packaging is actually an important final chapter in their marketing efforts.

The digital age has transformed the shopping experience – and as a result, consumers’ expectations have skyrocketed. Consumers expect to have any and all product information right at their fingertips, wherever they are, and at all times of the day.